Ólafsson Icelandic Gin

Design: The Rooster Factory
Creative director, illustrator: Julien Fort
Location: United States
Project Type: Produced
Client: Ólafsson Icelandic Gin
Product Launch Location: Global
Packaging Contents: gin (alcohol)
Packaging Substrate / Materials: glass bottle, paper label, wood cork
Printing Process: digital printing 5 colors, foil stamping, offset printing over gold hot foil, embossing, debossing

Ólafsson Icelandic Gin is inspired by and named in honor of Iceland’s most loved 18th century explorer and guardian of the Icelandic culture, Eggert Ólafsson. In 1772 he published ‘Reise Igiennem Island’ (Travels in Iceland), an account of the scientific and cultural research trip he conducted between 1752 and 1757. His fervor and dedication to Iceland inspired the birth of Ólafsson Icelandic Gin.

Ólafsson Icelandic Gin’s packaging is an invitation to discover the truly captivating story of Eggert Ólafsson. A hypnotizing portrait of Ólafsson, enclosed in a medallion, immediately drags attention and locks the eye gaze into the bottle. The rich and detailed hand-drawn illustrations, inspired by the original 18th-century engravings, depict Eggert Ólafsson’s epic five-year expedition across Iceland: from thundering waterfalls and volcanoes to geysers, glaciers and basalt columns, Ólafsson clambered across untamed tundra and met indigenous fauna, such as Arctic foxes and the Gyr falcons, and flora, both real and imaginary. The subdued colors chosen for the labels – yellow, brown, green – are reflections of the natural shades and lights typical of Iceland’s extraordinary terrain and otherworldly landscape, while the printing on warm gold foil and a rich combination of embossing and debossing match the gin’s exceptional quality and botanicals complexity. The Icelandic expressions, both on the front and back labels, are a funny and friendly nod to Ólafsson’s motherland and Icelandic consumers, part of a very tight community (320 000 inhabitants where everyone is somehow connected). Finally, a wooden cap engraved with Eyland Spirits, the company name, pays tribute to the birch, the emblematic Icelandic tree.

What’s Unique?
Ólafsson Gin’s labels combine digital printing 5 colors for the illustrations, foil stamping, offset printing over the gold hot foil, both embossing and debossing to reveal the detailed volume of some illustration elements such as the geyser, basalt rocks… The paper used is Cottone Bianco from Manter.